1. An aqueous extract of Canarium schweinfurthii attenuates seizures and potentiates sleep in mice: Evidence for involvement of GABA Pathway.
- Author
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Kandeda AK, Taiwe GS, Ayissi REM, and Moutchida C
- Subjects
- Animals, Anticonvulsants administration & dosage, Anticonvulsants isolation & purification, Cameroon, Diazepam pharmacology, Disease Models, Animal, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Epilepsy drug therapy, Hypnotics and Sedatives administration & dosage, Hypnotics and Sedatives isolation & purification, Male, Medicine, African Traditional, Mice, Phenobarbital pharmacology, Plant Extracts administration & dosage, Seizures drug therapy, Sleep drug effects, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid metabolism, Anticonvulsants pharmacology, Burseraceae chemistry, Hypnotics and Sedatives pharmacology, Plant Extracts pharmacology
- Abstract
About 30% of epileptic patients continue to have seizures. The present study investigates the anticonvulsant and sedative effects of an aqueous extract of C. schweinfurthii in mice. Anticonvulsant effects of C. schweinfurthii aqueous extract (0.01-300 mg/kg, p.o.) were tested against 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 15 mg/kg, i.p.) -, pilocarpine (PILO, 380 mg/kg, i.p.) - and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ, 75 mg/kg, i.p.) -induced seizures, while sedative effects were tested on diazepam (35 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced sleep. Afterward, the most effective dose of the extract (11.9 mg/kg) was antagonized with N-methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxamide or flumazenil. In another set of experiments, mice were sacrificed for the estimation of GABA content and GABA-T activity in the cerebral cortex. The dose of the extract that protected 50% of mice (ED
50 ) against 4-AP, PILO, and PTZ was respectively 4.43 mg/kg (versus 12.01 for phenobarbital), 9.59 mg/kg (vs 8.67 for diazepam), and 2.12 mg/kg (vs 0.20 for clonazepam). Further, the ED50 of the extract that increased the duration of sleep was 0.24 mg/kg (vs 0.84 for phenobarbital). N-methyl-β-carboline-3-carboxamide or flumazenil antagonized (p < 0.001) the anticonvulsant effect of C. schweinfurthii in PTZ-induced seizures and diazepam-induced sleep when compared to the negative control group. The extract at all doses increased (p < 0.001) the GABA content and decreased (p < 0.001) GABA-T activity. These findings suggest that C. schweinfurthii possesses anticonvulsant and sedative effects. These effects seem to be mediated via the modulation of the GABA neurotransmission. These data explain the use of this plant to treat epilepsy in Cameroon traditional medicine., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.. All rights reserved.)- Published
- 2021
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